Right From The Start
by Lady Cookie-Monster
Summary: "It's about a girl who made it through four years of high school without being noticed, and a guy who finally found what he didn't know what he was looking for. This is their story." Jamille, AU.


**a/n: my first Jamille! Wow, I've been working on this for like ever it feels like and it's really long but it's finally completed :D Just to clarify, anything with dots separating the scene (…) means it's all in the same day, and an actual scene break is like days/weeks later (ie: different time scenes) so hopefully I showed that well enough and that this story isn't too rushed! I'd like to dedicate this to the lovely Amber (jdmazz) aka the captain of the Jamille ship. I'd also like to thank Dream Street for inspiring the title and some events of this story with their song "With All My Heart". And without further ado, here it is! I don't own anything.**

_It's funny how you can go to school with someone for four years but not even really being noticed by them until your senior year. It's sort of like you're invisible to them, to the world. After a while, you sort got used to the while being invisible to almost everyone but when the day comes that you're finally noticed it's… you don't even know how to describe it. It's weird, but nice. You don't know what to make of it._

_And that's how this story started. It's about a girl who made it through four years of high school without being noticed, and a guy who finally found what he didn't know what he was looking for. This is their story._

* * *

Camille had been sitting next to James in English for a week before she said anything to him. Truth be told, she was extremely intimidated by him and a little blown away. He had been the most attractive guy she'd seen in her school, with his piercing hazel eyes and perfect brown hair. She was lucky enough to have gym with him last year and she shamelessly spent most of weight training walking on the treadmill watching him bench; it was scary how big his muscles were.

And it wasn't just his looks that intimated her; he was one of those guys that just everybody liked- girls, boys, teachers. It was impossible to not like James. However, since everybody just happened to like him, Camille felt like she would go completely unnoticed if she even tried to start up a conversation with him. That didn't include the numerous competition she had with him, since every girl she came in contact with found some way to mention how much they liked James, or wanted to date James, or actually had been on a date with James, or just wanted to talk to James. And compared to her competition, Camille didn't think she stood a chance.

It wasn't that she was ugly- she was actually very cute, she just didn't see it or believe it. She was a little over five feet, with curly brown hair and bright brown eyes; nothing extraordinary there. But while she didn't feel as if she was beautiful look wise, she was often told she was beautiful personality wise, and that was enough for her to go by. But guys didn't usually go after the girls with the beautiful personality.

So that was generally why Camille just admired James from afar, since freshman year, to be exact. Occasionally the two of them would exchange a smile or wave here and there, but it was never more than that. Camille never had enough courage to talk to James. But for the rest of the school year, she was seated next to him in English class so maybe there would be a circumstance where she would get to talk to him.

Turns out, her chance came sooner than she thought and she didn't even see it coming. When she was rushing into class, since she was late after taking too much time talking to her friend in the hallway, when she reached the doorway, she slammed right into James. Since he was basically all muscle, it barely phased him but since she was one hundred and ten pounds of lack of muscle, she hit the floor right after she hit him.  
"Shit, are you okay?" James asked, extending his hand to help her up.

Camille coughed a little and started to push herself up so she was resting on her elbows, and she brushed her hair out of her face. "I'm alright." she said. She then noticed his hand hovering above her and she hesitantly took it, feeling tingles spark throughout her body when they made contact. "Sorry about that." she apologized when she was on two feet again.

"It's no problem." James reassured her. "But I think we're both kind of late now."  
Camille chuckled. "Maybe just a tad." she said, then ran her fingers through her hair. She then had to will herself to stop because she always played with her hair when she was nervous. James smiled at her and the two of them walked into class and took their seats. Throughout the remainder of class, however, James kept sneaking glances over at Camille and her cheeks didn't turn their normal color until the bell rang at the end of the period. As the two of them were getting up, James' notebook slipped off of his desk. He didn't seem to notice and Camille reached down for it. "Hey," he turned around to face her and she offered him his notebook. "You dropped this."

"Thanks Camille." James smiled and Camille felt her heart stop.

James Diamond knew her name.

. . .

James wasn't a strong believer in love at first sight, especially in this sense of it. He had known Camille since freshman year, when she first moved to San Diego. She was the new girl and naturally, everybody was interested in who she was. James was no exception, and when he saw the short girl with freckles and braces, he couldn't deny that she was too cute. But she was apparently pretty shy, so the two of them never talked. Sophomore year, he didn't see her but junior year when they had gym and chemistry together, it was like she was seeing a different person. She was a little taller, her hair was longer, her braces were gone- she was still cute but there was something different… something that caught James' eye more often, something that had him staring at her a little longer while he should've been taking notes.

Now that senior year started and James was finally single. 'Finally' because after numerous dates with just a lack of romantic spark, he decided that it was just better for him to remain single. It was time to worry about himself. Another reason was that he learned a long time ago that he didn't know what he wanted with his life when it came down to relationships. He wasn't sure if one day he wanted to settle down and be married, or just be that guy who had girlfriend and couldn't be tied down. And until he was sure of that, he didn't want to hurt another girl again.

But that didn't stop him from spending all of math class thinking about Camille…

. . .

"What's got you in such a daze?" Jo Taylor asked at lunch that same day.

"Hmm?" Camille murmured, poking at her lunch with a plastic fork, glancing up occasionally to look over at James, who shared this lunch period and sat a few tables away from where she sat.

Jo reached over and snapped her fingers in front of Camille's face, catching her attention. "What's up with you?" she asked.

"Oh, it's nothing…" Camille murmured, but Jo's knowing stare got it out of her. "Okay, it's a boy." she admitted.

"Oh my gosh, who!" Jo exclaimed. "C'mon, tell me everything!"

"It's not even a big deal and I highly doubt he likes me but… James Diamond." Camille said meekly, and then winced when Jo let out a small, girlish squeal.

"You like James? How cute!"

"Could you say it any louder?" Camille hissed.

Jo chuckled. "I'm sorry but it's just so cute." she said. "And how do you know that he doesn't like you? He very well might missy."

Camille rolled her eyes. "Don't get my hopes up." she muttered.

"I'm not. I see the way he looks at you in class- he's definitely looking at something he likes." Jo told her.

Camille's cheeks flushed a deep shade of red. "Shut up!" she insisted, but Jo's comment didn't leave her mind for the rest of the week, specifically every time she entered English class…

* * *

Nobody, not even Jo, knew how long Camille harbored feelings for him, how badly she wanted him. And although she didn't want to get her hopes up because of one "moment"- if you could even call it that- between the two of them, she couldn't help but to let her mind play with the possibility of her and James being together.

But was she the only one who felt like that?

Days after that one, the day they first actually talked to each other, she noticed James giving her a little more attention than usual. He would greet her everyday as she walked into class, he'd talk to her about assignments, once he even complimented her outfit because she happened to be wearing green, his favorite color. All those little things were adding up to more and more conversation between the two of them and it even got to the point where their English teacher threatened to separate their seats.

They were also becoming really good friends too. She was learning things about him that she never knew before, and he was learning things about her. They even started texting after a while, and Camille couldn't picture anything more perfect. She felt like she was living a fantasy come true. Here she was, the girl who was invisible to everyone, being noticed by James, who was like a prince in her eyes. As clichéd and corny as it sounded, she didn't care because nothing could measure up to the happiness she felt when she was with him.

She didn't know how or why this was happening but she knew it all meant something.  
She knew that James liked her.

Now it was only a matter of time until he did something about it. "Make a move" as Jo described it as. Camille could only hope it would be soon.

* * *

At the end of a marking period, every single class had ending exams and everyday of the week there was a different one. Today's exam was math and by time lunch rolled around, it seemed like the entire student body couldn't be happier for a break. Camille didn't look up from her iPod as she followed Jo towards the lunch line, keeping her eyes bouncing from her iPod screen to the feet of those in front of her. She didn't notice how she was drifting behind her friend, however, or how one of James was walking in her direction.

He didn't see her coming his way as he was trying to text and the two of the collided. They both hit the floor along with her iPod, his phone, and tray of food he was holding, the lettuce from his salad going everywhere. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" he told her brushing his hair out of his face so he could see her, the same time she exclaimed, "I'm so sorry!" the pair chuckled lightly, realizing they both said the same thing.

"Um." Camille picked up a piece of lettuce off of the sleeve of her hoodie. "I don't think you'll be wanting this anymore." she told him.

He laughed. "Not particularly."

She smiled shyly at him and then started to scan the floor for her iPod. She saw his iPhone on the ground next to her and picked it up "I think this is yours." she said.

"And this must be yours" he said handing her the iPod.

"Thank you." Camille told him, and took it from him. The two sat there a minute and neither one of them saying anything, but the expressions on their faces, the looks in their eyes, were saying more than their mouths ever could. There was an attraction there between them, neither one could deny it any longer. It was obvious for the whole room to see- James and Camille liked each other.

Something had to be done about it now.

"You know," James said, breaking the ever growing silence between them. "We probably look like weirdoes sitting on the floor like this." he laughed.

"Probably." Camille said with a chuckle and she pushed herself to her feet, extending her hand to him. He smiled up at her and took her hand graciously. She helped him to his feet and once he was standing she realized they were still holding hands. Her ears heated up with embarrassment and she let go of him.

"So again I'm really sorry about knocking you over." he said.

"Its really no problem" Camille assured him. "Honestly I would've fallen over by myself at one point tonight."

James laughed at that. "Well can I at least make it up to you and buy you lunch?" he asked.

Her cheeks flushed red. "Oh, no it's fine." she insisted.

"A gentleman always pays for the lady." he replied with a coy smile that nobody could resist. Camille was no exception and like he predicted, the two of them were walking back towards the lunch line to her their meals. She talked to him along the way, telling him about her dream of being an actress and how these math exams were doing nothing to help her get towards her goal. She made him laugh, and when she pointed out the coloring in his cheeks- damn Roacea- he became aware that she was one of the rare girls that could make him blush. Part of him knew it was coming and that he was growing attracted to this girl, but knowing full well that her rules for herself were don't trust and don't get attached ever again. He didn't want to do this.

He didn't want love.

The thoughts caused him to frown and Camille picked up on it immediately. His smile was the first thing that attracted her to him, and when it was gone, she felt empty inside. "Everything ok?" she asked him.

James nodded in hopes to convince her otherwise. "I'm good." he then forced a smile. "C'mon, let's get those lunches. I want hear more about your acting dreams."

Even though he didn't want love, he loved the way he could make her blush.

. . .

Kendall was in the middle of talking about the hockey game last night, and how the Wild was robbed because of some crappy calls, but he realized that James wasn't paying any attention to him the second that Camille entered the classroom. The blonde chuckled. "You got it bad, bro." he said, but it went unheard to his friend's ears.

When Camille walked into class, James took a moment to study her while she talked to the teacher, unzipping and pulling off her hoodie to reveal a navy blue t-shirt that was tied back to reveal a white tank top underneath. Her hair was pulled back in a sloppy bun, a few strands framing her face. Even dressed down, she looked completely beautiful, and James found himself smiling a little bit looking at her.  
When she turned towards him, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh no." he said. "No, no, no, no, no."

Camille looked confused as she sat down in the seat next to him. "What?"

"Listen little girl," he said and she rolled her eyes at the nickname. "You're in Minnesota, so disgracing the Twins with a shirt like that…" he pinched the fabric of her Yankees jersey and she rolled her eyes. "Is just an insult."

Camille just rolled her eyes again. "Sorry pretty boy, I gotta support my hometown."

"You're from Connecticut ." James said matter-of-factly.

"Check your facts: was born in New York. Lived there for years." Camille replied smugly.

James nodded his head, looking impressed. "So we've got a badass here." he said.

Camille smirked. "We go hard where I'm from."

"Oh, and we don't go hard here?" James asked, pretending to be offended.

Camille just smiled and shrugged coyly and James chucked, poking her in the side. "Stop it." she giggled, and brushed her hair behind her ear. When she turned her head to fully face him, James stared at her eyes. They looked brighter today. Beautiful. "Besides, I don't even like baseball that much." she said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I just support my boys."

"Well I'm taking you to a Twin's game whether you like it or not." James declared.

Camille chuckled. "It's a date." she replied, then turned her head towards her binder to search for something.

James licked his lips and did the same, his mind still doing flips over Camille's it's a date comment. He hoped one day, that he could take her on a date, but he knew that it wasn't a possibility.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Kendall smirking at him, a smug look on his face that said, "you want her."

James replied with a look that simply said, "shut up."

"Okay students," their English teacher captured their attention and the class gradually turned around in their seats to see what she had to say. "It's that time of the year: project time." she was greeted with the loud groans and complaints of her students and she continued, "Oh stop, I'll make it easy on you. You'll be assigned a partner, and for your project, you are to do a presentation on a specific theme in literature." she explained. "It could be love, death, hate, violence- anything. You just need to have books, plays, or poems to provide examples of your theme." she talked a little bit more about the project and then started assigning partners.

James focused his attention on his notebook as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, only listening to hear Kendall and Jo be assigned partners, then going back into his own thoughts. Part of him wished, hoped, even prayed that he could work with Camille, but another part of him wanted the complete opposite to happen. Should he risk getting closer to her, if nothing was to come out of their relationship? Should he just go in instinct and follow his heart? Should he play it safe and not risk breaking her heart? Should-

"James, you will be partnered with Camille."

James felt a feeling he hadn't felt in years; his heart started to pound, his palms got sweaty, his stomach flipped. He looked over at Camille and when he saw her smile, everything he was feeling increased tenfold.

He just knew, with all his heart, that this was going to be the best and worst experience of his life.

. . .

James and Camille had agreed to get started on the project as soon as possible, so that night he was going to her house after school. After ignoring the relentless teasing from his friends, and after taking a nap while trying to complete some of his homework, he found himself growing slightly anxious as he drove to her house. He didn't know where this afternoon would lead him- he knew they were supposed to work on their project but there was still that little hint of "anything could happen" which he had to blame Kendall for since the blonde put the thought in his head to begin with. Nevertheless, James pushed all of those thoughts out of his mind as he pulled into Camille's driveway. He said hi to her dad and he told her that she was in her room, right down the hall.

_I'm falling even more in love with you, letting go of all I hang on to._

James laughed lightly at the irony of the song blasting from Camille's room and he pushed open her bedroom door, pausing in his walk, a little surprised to see her dancing around her room. Well, maybe dancing wasn't the right word to use; it was more like she was jumping around and throwing her arms in the air to the beat of the song playing.  
When she finally turned around and noticed him standing there, she let out a scream, causing him to scream as well. "Why are you in my room?" she exclaimed, eyes wide with fear.

"For the project!" James cried, motioning to the books in his arms.

Camille sighed, and put her hand over her chest, turning off the song playing on her laptop. "Well you could've said something sooner." she said. "You know, instead of watching me like that."

"But you're so cute when you're embarrassed." James said, pinching her cheek. She swatted his hand away and he chuckled. "Besides, I kind of liked watching you dance. It was adorable."

Camille rolled her eyes and tried to will her cheeks to lose such color.

She glanced up at him again. "You wear glasses?" she asked.

"Only when my contacts irritate me." he replied. "Or when I'm just too lazy to put them in after a nap."

Camille smiled lightly. "Cute." she said, and it really was. Nothing was cuter than James in glasses. The brown haired girl sat down on her bed and patted the space next to her for James to sit. When he took a seat next to her, she started closing some of the documents she had up before he came over and clicked on her Internet icon.

"Hey, you have a webcam?" he asked.

"Yup." she replied.

"Let's take some pictures." James smiled.

Camille chuckled. "You just got here and you already want to procrastinate?" she asked.

"Oh, c'mon it'll be fun." James insisted, still smiling, and let's be honest- who could say no to a smile like that.

"Okay, okay." Camille replied and opened her webcam. She smiled at the camera in the center of her laptop and he made a face, looking at her instead of the camera. She laughed a little and took the picture, already loving it's ridiculousness. "You're such a dork." she  
told him.

"Is that the only thing you like to call me?" he asked.

She pursed her lips in thought. "No, I'm kind of biased to wonderboy." she replied.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Seriously… wonderboy?" he asked.

She giggled a little and discretely took a picture of his hilarious expression. "It's from Hercules." she replied. "Now c'mere wonderboy, and smile pretty for the camera."

And that's what he did, the two of them taking more pictures, all of them silly and funny, but still cute. "Okay," Camille said after they had taken a bunch of pictures. "We should try and get some work done."

"Wait one more picture." James said, deciding he should do this now before he lost his nerve. "Gonna go out with a bang."

"Okay, let's do it." Camille said. She positioned the camera so it was steady and she finger hovered over the mouse, waiting to press the button. James pushed her finger away and held his hand over it, then when Camille turned her head towards him, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. Immediately, her face broke out into the biggest smile and James took the picture. He pulled away from her cheek a second later and smiled at her, trying to ignore the way he knew his cheeks were bright red. But hers weren't any better.

"Definitely out with a bang." she said and he chuckled, nodding in agreement.

. . .

After they got some work done and James got home, he logged onto his FaceBook, just wanting to kill time until he got tired. When he got on, he saw that he had one notification.

Camille Roberts tagged you in a photo.

Smiling to himself, he clicked on the link, taking him to the photo. His smile grew when he saw that her new profile picture was the one of him kissing her cheek. And of course, the caption said _wonderboy ;)_.

He clicked onto her profile and saw that she added all the pictures they took this afternoon into one of her albums, and he also looked at her newest status update.

_Late at night, awake and alone, I count the stars in the sky, every cloud that rolls by, and I think of you…_

James smirked, and clicked on her name to instant message her. 'So, thinking of me?' he typed.

He could just picture her rolling her eyes perfectly in his mind. 'Don't be full of yourself lol'

He smirked. 'If the status fits…'

'Shut up! Lol'

James could totally hear her voice in his head and it just made him smile more. 'Oh, so it is about me ;)'

'You're annoying'

'You love me'

Once again, he envisioned her rolling her eyes at his comment and he couldn't help but to smile. She was so cute.

His IM made an annoying ding noise, letting him know that she messaged him back. 'So question…'

'Yes darlin?'

'When you kissed my cheek in that picture…what if I turned my head a little too far?'  
James' lips felt dry and he licked them. 'You mean what if we kissed for real?'

'Yeah'

His fingers hovered over the keyboard for a little bit, trying to think of what to say. 'Would you have minded?'

The wait for her reply seemed so longer than it actually was. 'No'

And once again, James' face broke out into the biggest grin. 'I wouldn't have minded either'

There was a long pause before Camille finally said something. Three simple words that made James' heart jump in his throat. 'I like you'

His fingers trembled a little but he finally managed to type back, 'I like you too'

* * *

Over the following days, James couldn't get Camille out of his mind. He thought about her smile, her eyes, her laugh. He thought about how animated she got when talked about acting, about getting out of Minnesota and moving to LA. He thought about how she would squeal and laugh when he poked her ribs and tickled her. He thought about the look on her face when she was working, how concentrated and focused she looked. He thought about how she would bite her bottom lip, how she stuck her tongue out at him, how she crossed her eyes when she was bored. He thought about her cheek, how it felt to kiss her. He thought about kissing her lips…

He couldn't deny it; he was falling for her and he was falling hard. And it scared him a lot. It was bad enough he broke his own rule and actually kissed her last night, albeit wasn't a "real" kiss- it was close enough and he had butterflies in his stomach from that moment on until he left her house. He wanted to do all the things he knew he shouldn't do: he wanted to hold her, he wanted to kiss her, he wanted to love her…

"Mr. Diamond!"

James jumped a little in surprise, not realizing how his history teacher had been calling his name. "Yes?" his cheeks flushed a little.

The elder lady looked at him and shook her head a little. "I've given out the assignment, yet you're still staring off into space." she told him.

James' cheeks flushed even more. "I'm sorry." he apologized and quickly started to open his notebook, glancing at Logan's desk next to him to see what their assignment was. Definitions- how thrilling. Seriously, he could've continued staring off into space, thinking about Camille instead of copying words and phrases from a text book. Sighing, he opened his history book and attempted to work a little until the sound of the door creaking open distracted him. James looked up as Camille walked into his classroom and he started to smile. She glanced at him and gave him a smile, before turning to his teacher and giving her some papers. She chatted with her for a moment and as she was leaving, she flashed James another smirk.

The brunette boy waited a full thirty seconds before asking to use the bathroom. Once he got the pass, he stepped out into the hallway, his face breaking out into a smile once he saw Camille wasn't too far away. He ran down the hall behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Oh my gosh!" she laughed when he picked her up. When he feet were planted firmly on the ground, she turned around to face him. "Hey."

"Hey." he said. "What's up?"

Camille shrugged. "Running errands for my teacher, getting out of class. The usual."

"Yeah." James chuckled, and smiled at her shyly. Camille's smile grew and she stood up on her toes to place a kiss on his cheek. Camille felt her stomach jump a little; he was kind of scruffy around his cheeks and she couldn't deny that it felt amazing to kiss him, even if it just was his cheek. James' cheeks were tinted pink and he was grinning from ear to ear. "What was that for?"

"For last night?" Camille replied softly, not able to remove the smile form her face.

James bit his lip. "I like you." he said softly.

Hearing James say that kind of took her breath way. "I like you." she whispered. The two of them stood there in the silence for a moment before Camille broke it by asking James, "So about this project…?"

"Hmmm?" James asked, idling lacing their fingers together.

Camille blushed lightly. "How about your house tonight?" she asked.

James grinned. "I'm down with that. I can give you a ride after school if you don't mind."

"Y-yeah, I don't mind." Camille stuttered lightly and James chuckled.

"So adorable." he mumbled and Camille leaned up one more time to kiss his cheek again.

. . .

After school, Camille met James outside by his car, greeting him with a quick peck on the cheek before he drove her to his house. It wasn't a long ride, and it was filled with music, loud singing, and lots of laughs. And as usual, James found it hard to keep his eyes off of Camille.

The Diamond house was big, no doubt about that, and Camille's eyes widened a little when she saw it. "Your house is really nice." she said.

"My mom's doing." James shrugged, opening her car door. She stepped out and they started walking towards the front door. "I'd introduce you to her, but she's working."

"It's fine." Camille told him with a smile. "I'll meet her one day."

He smiled when she said that. "I'd like that." James said quietly and her cheeks flushed a little. There was a short, somewhat awkward, pause between them and James pulled out his key, letting the two of them inside of his house. Camille looked around for a moment, taking in the beauty of the Diamond house (it definitely lived up to its name) before asking, "Do you want to get started?"

James nodded, and reached for her hand. "Follow me." he said, leading her upstairs to his bedroom.

Upon entering his room, Camille noticed James' guitar in the corner of his room. "You play?" she asked him.

He shrugged modestly. "A little bit." he admitted. "No big deal."

"Can you play me something?" she looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.

James chuckled. "I'm not that good…" he tried but the look Camille gave him told him he had to play her something. So he grabbed the neck of his guitar and slung it over his shoulders. "Any requests?" he asked while he tuned it.

Camille shrugged this time. "I don't know what you can play." she said.

"Well I just learned a new song…" he said. "Wanna hear it?"

"Of course." Camille smiled and took a seat on his bed. He sat on the edge and strummed his guitar lightly, before playing the opening to _Wonderwall_ by Oasis and Camille knew at that moment, James Diamond was the one for her. "Stop." she said suddenly, feeling her stomach doing flips to the point where she thought she was going to puke.

"What, am I that bad?" he asked, confused.

"No just… you're doing that thing." she said, her cheeks flushing.

"That thing?" he cocked an eyebrow.

She nodded. "That thing that makes me love you." she said quietly, her cheeks brighter red than before.

It was quiet between them for a moment and James' mind was buzzing. They weren't officially dating and they both knew that, but in the few months since the very first time they spoke, since the time that James knocked Camille to the floor outside of English class, he knew that she was special. He knew that she was a girl that he wouldn't want to let go of no matter what. And he knew that he needed to tell her.

With the ongoing silence, Camille had thought she messed up royally, until James stood up and took her hands in his. She looked up at him and he leaned down, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I love you too." he whispered, and it was true. He may not know much about love, he may have seen his parents fall out of love before his eyes, but he still believed in love and he knew and felt that he loved Camille with all of his heart.

And nothing scared him more.

* * *

Another month had passed since James and Camille basically told each other they loved one another, but not much had changed since them. James still hadn't kissed her on the lips, they hadn't been on a date, and she wasn't his official girlfriend yet. To say that they both wanted more by now was an understatement, but James didn't want to risk breaking the heart of a girl like Camille because he was unsure of the future. He couldn't tell her that, and he figured that playing it safe would justify not being her boyfriend. Not that he didn't want to- he did- but kind of hoped that once he really found love, he would know what he wanted his future to be. He fed himself false hope with that one because he still didn't know. Camille was the kind of girl any guy would be lucky to marry, but could he handle the commitment? Was he ready to think about giving up dating forever? Sure he was only a senior in high school, but he needed to think about his plans for the future. Did he one day he want to settle down, or did he want to be a bachelor for the rest of his life? If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that Camille didn't deserve his indecisive behavior and for that reason, he tried keeping her at a distance.

Easier said than done.

* * *

"Standing on your momma's porch, you told me that you'd wait forever!" Camille laughed as Jo sang along to the radio, playing drums on the steering wheel. Though the music was loud, she felt her phone vibrate in her lap, and when she saw James' name on her caller ID, she smiled and answered it. "Hello?" Jo noticed she was on the phone and lowered the volume of the radio.

"Hey, beautiful."

Camille sighed, but she was still grinning from ear to ear. And blushing too, but thankfully James couldn't see that; he saw enough of that, which she wasn't exactly fond of. "You're doing it again." she told him.

"Doing what?" he sounded confused.

"That thing that makes me love you." she told him, leaning against the car window.

She heard him chuckle. "I'm sorry?"

"Well, it's not entirely fair if you're gonna make me love you, but you won't date me." she explained.

"Well who says that I wasn't calling you just now to ask you out on a date?" he asked.

Camille bit her lip. "Are you?"

"I am." James said, and Camille could see the smile on his face. Camille covered her mouth with her hand to suppress the squeal of delight she wanted to let out. "So what do you say little girl?"

"Do you even have to ask?" she replied, the widest grin on her face. "Yes, I'll go on a date with you." she looked over at Jo, excitement written all over her face and her best friend's face matched it.

"Awesome." Camille could practically see James' smile. After making an agreement to meet at the movies tonight, she said goodbye to him and hung up the phone. She and Jo squealed for a few moments, both of them too excited and thrilled to form words.

After they managed to calm down, Jo asked, "So what's going on with you and James?"

Camille turned towards her friend. "What do you mean?"

Jo shrugged. "Are you guys dating or…"

"I don't think we're officially dating." Camille said slowly, thinking about what Jo asked her.

"But you two are always together, and he's always kissing you and you're always kissing him," Jo explained.

"I know-"

"And you're both always holding hands, and always touching on each other." Jo continued.

"Yeah, I know." Camille said. "But he's never asked me to be his girlfriend, so I don't think I'm officially his girlfriend."

"Weird."

Camille shrugged. "We're just taking it slow, I guess."

"But you like him."

Camille couldn't fight her smile. "No, I love him." she said.

Jo's eyes widened. "That's a big word to use, Cam." she warned her.

"I know, but I mean it." Camille insisted. "And- and I think he loves me too. Or at least he's starting to."

"That's cute." Jo smiled. "I hope he does ask you out sooner or later. You both would make such a cute couple."

Camille just smiled and blushed. "I can't wait for tonight." she sighed happily.

. . .

James hadn't been on a date in a long time- since last year- so it was like his first date all over again. He was nervous, anxious, excited, he was pacing- he never paced before, why was he pacing now? He groaned softly to himself; dating sucked.

But all of those negative thoughts were pushed aside when Camille walked into the theater lobby and he saw her, wearing a beautiful blue dress, her curly hair flowing down her shoulders. When she spotted him, her smile was so wide, so bright it lit up the room brighter than the overhead lights. She looked beautiful. "Hey." he said.

"Hey yourself." she greeted him.

He pulled her into a hug. "So, ready to see this movie?" he asked her.

"Of course." she grinned. He took her hand and walked her into the theater, not letting go of it until the opening credits started to play.

The movie was good, but neither one of them were really paying attention. They were thinking about each other, Camille specifically thinking about kissing James. Should she make the move, or should she wait for him to? The decision seemed to decide itself because her lips were itching to taste his. Nervously, she turned her body so she was looking at him. He noticed her movement and turned her way as well, and she didn't hesitate to lean forward and-

"No."

Camille was confused. "No, what?" she asked.

"No kissing." James said simply.

She was still confused. "No… kissing? But we've kissed before."

"Not on the lips." he argued.

"So I can't kiss you on the lips?" she asked slowly.

"It's my rule." James explained pathetically, even though he wanted nothing more than to kiss her right now. It's my rule - how lame could he get? Still, he couldn't risk it. He was already falling for her hard, he couldn't take much more.

"You have rules?" Camille asked slowly.

"Yeah."

She paused in thought. She had never met a guy who actually had rules- what kind of nonsense was that? Biting her lip, she turned to him. "Well guess what?" she asked. "I don't follow rules very well." and with that, she leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips.

She expected him to push her away, but he didn't. At first, he kind of stiffened up but when he figured out that she wasn't going to pull away, he started getting into the kiss, moving his lips in motion with hers. As the kiss went on, things started heating up. James placed his hands on her hips and pulled her over the seat divider, so she was in his lap. One knee on either side of his waist, she tangled her fingers in his hair and tugged slightly as their mouths moved together, lips being bitten, neither one of them knowing what was happening with this movie whatsoever. After what felt like an eternity, since they both needed air, they parted and pressed their foreheads together. "Damn it." James panted. "You're doing it."

"Doing what?" Camille asked, a little breathless.

"That thing that makes me love you." he told her, and Camille felt like she could burst.

"You liked that?" she asked in amazement.

"More than I should've." he replied.

Camille chuckled, and looked down, a little embarrassed. "Uh, sorry about your rule." she muttered.

James smiled and rubbed her back. "It's okay." he said, but he couldn't ignore that feeling in his stomach right now.

He was in love with her.

. . .

"So, what'd you think of the movie?" James asked as they were leaving the theater.

"I think my favorite part was us making out." she replied with a coy smile.

James chuckled and threw his arm around her shoulder. "I had a feeling you'd say that."

"What about you?" she tilted her head up to look at him.

"Same." he replied honestly.

Camille smiled. "You know, if were together, we could do stuff like that all the time." she told him.

James stopped walking and pivoted his body to face her. "Well who says we can't do that right now?" he asked, hoping she would drop the subject.

"Because eventually I'm gonna want more from you." she told him honestly. "And I'm hoping that you'll want to be my boyfriend before that point." she didn't miss the way James sighed and looked down at the floor, and pinched her eyebrows together. "Do… do you want to be my boyfriend?" she asked timidly.

"I do." he said quietly. "And I want you to be my girlfriend but…"

"But what?" she pressed.

"It just wouldn't work out." James blurted out.

"Who says it wouldn't?" Camille said, confused as ever. And a little hurt but she was better at hiding that.

"I just know it wouldn't." James insisted.

"James-"

"Camille, can't we just drop it?" he asked.

"No, we can't just drop it." she said. "James, I don't get what's the problem here."

"There's no problem." he replied with a shrug.

Camille stared at him. "You just said we wouldn't work out, but for the past month it's been nonstop you and me practically dating. I don't see why-"

"Do I have to spell it out for you, babe?" James asked, running his fingers through his hair, frustrated. "I'm not going to date you." That did it. James saw the hurt in her eyes, the way her lips parted slightly. He had successfully become the biggest asshole in Minnesota.

"You know what?" Camille said, swallowing thickly, trying to fight the wave of tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks at any given moment. "Thanks, but I'll just call someone else for a ride. I don't need you, James." She quickly walked away, pulling her phone out and repeating a single mantra in her head over and over again. I fucking hate you, James Diamond.

"Cam, wait!"

She didn't. As soon as she stepped out of the movie theater, she leaned against the wall, sinking down to the ground and willing herself to calm down. But a single tear slipped down her cheek and she knew she was done for. Soon she was going to be a mess of tears and hysterically sobbing- in public, nonetheless.

Her phone vibrated in her hand, distracting her briefly, and when she saw James' name pop up, her heart dropped. She let it vibrate a couple of times before answering. "What?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry." he said. Those two words made her want to hug him and punch him at the same time. "Look, I know what I said was mean and I wish I could take it back," he was saying. "But… Camille, I really love you."

"Don't say that." she said.

"It's true, though." James insisted. "I wouldn't lie to you about that. I love you Camille." The tears started to fall faster and Camille raised her hand to wipe them away instead of replying to him. "Please let me take you home?" he asked. "We can talk if you want, or you can beat me up in a dark alley."

_Don't make me laugh you asshole_, she thought, but she smiled nonetheless. "Fine." she said, then sniffled. "I'm outside."

"Okay, I'll be there in a sec." the line went dead and Camille pocketed her phone, then quickly started to wipe at her face so it didn't look like she was crying. She doubted it worked because when he got outside, the look on his face said it all. And even though he was the one who made her cry, she got to her feet and let him pull her into a tight hug, her face pressed into his chest. Even though she really wanted to just punch him the stomach, she just held onto him tighter. He had kind of affect on her.

"C'mon," he said, looking down at her. "My car's over there." he started to walk but he stopped, and started to pull off his jacket.

Camille's eyes widened. _No, no, NO, don't you DARE-_

"Here, wear this." he said, handing her his leather jacket.

_Fuck._

Hesitantly, she took it and slid it on. Truth be told, she was cold and she must've guessed it was pretty obvious because even she was aware of her shaking. As soon as it was on, she immediately felt warm. The sleeves covered her hands completely and it was pretty big on her, but it was just so comfortable and it felt like it fit just right- like it was made just for her. "Well?" she asked him. "How do I look?"

He smiled at her, albeit it was a sad smile because he could still see the tears shining in her eyes. Tears that should never have been there in the first place. "Beautiful." he replied honestly.

It still amazed him that he was able to make her blush like that.

. . .

They had been driving for a little while but they didn't say two words to each other. Camille had her head in one of her hands, her elbow resting on her door as she stared aimlessly out the window. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see James staring at her every now and again. She wondered if he wanted to say something to her. She wondered if she wanted to say anything to him. She wondered when the urge to cry was going to pass. When he was near her house, he pulled over and she looked at him confused. He turned off the car before looking at her and say, "Backseat."

"What?" she asked, not understanding why he wanted her in the backseat of his car.

"C'mon." he said, climbing in the backseat and leaning against one of the windows. She hesitated, but climbed back there and settled against her, her back against his chest and he wrapped his arms around his waist. She liked this; no, she loved this. She felt safe like this. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Talk to me, babe." he whispered.

She let out a shuddering breath. "I love you." she said simply.

"I love you." he replied, his head pressed into her hair. It was so soft.

"Then why won't you be with me?" she asked, turning her head to look at him. "Is there something wrong with me-"

"You're perfect." he said quickly. "Darlin, trust me, it's not you. It's me."

Camille rolled her eyes. "I haven't heard that one before." she said sarcastically, resting her head on his chest again.

"It's true though." he said, then sighed. "Camille, when you think about the future, what do you see?" he asked her. When she didn't reply right away, he continued. "You see yourself married with kids. And when I look into the future… I don't know what I see. I don't know that I can be the kind of guy you deserve, and I don't want to hurt you by not being that guy. Your soul mate is going to come around and sweep you off your feet, and it'll be amazing. You don't want to waist your time on me when I could just end up being the wrong thing for you."

There were so many things wrong with what James just said, Camille didn't know where to begin. "Let me start by saying one flaw with your little montage," Camille started. "When I think of the future, I just see you and me." she turned around so she was still on his lap, but facing him now. "Nothing else matters." she said sincerely.

He stared at her long and hard. "You're doing it now." he said softly.

"What?" she asked, a smile twitching at her lips because she had a strong, gut feeling she knew where this was leading.

He swallowed thickly. "That thing that makes me love you." he whispered, before taking the plunge to kiss her on the lips. Camille knew how big of a deal this was for him and she was absolutely bursting. Feeling his lips on hers, it was like they were truly made for one another because they just fit perfectly. It was love.

After kissing for what felt like forever, the two separated, cheeks flushed, holding on to each other tightly as they tried to catch their breaths. "I should go inside." she said breathlessly.

"Yeah." James agreed with a nod, reluctantly letting go of her. She opened the car door and climbed outside of it while he went to the front seat.

"Hey," James turned to look at her as he put his key in the ignition. Camille smirked a little. "I'm gonna wait for you." she said. "I don't care if you don't think you can be the guy for me, you said someday my soul mate is gonna come around. And I believe that he's you, so I'm gonna wait."

James smirked in reply but he couldn't help but to melt a little at Camille's words.

"Forever's a long time babe." he replied.

Camille just smiled at him. "For you? It's worth the wait." James smiled at that, causing her to smile and even blush a little. She started to leave, but she turned around to say, "I'm keeping your jacket just so you know."

His laugh filled her ears and her stomach fluttered just a little, and he just shook his head as he drove down her street, disappearing into the darkness. It was his way of say, "Fine with me."

As James was driving away, his phone vibrated. It only vibrated once, letting him know he had a text, and when he pulled to a stoplight, he picked up his phone to see he had a message from FaceBook; Camille's status update.

_And I know as long as there is tomorrow, I'll be loving you right from the start with all my heart._

Those words, albeit from a song, touched his heart and he instantly knew what he had to do. Quickly, he got her name up in his phone and sent her a text message. It wasn't long but he knew that she would understand what he meant just with a single sentence.  
He read it over, a smile growing on his face, and pressed send_._

**You won't have to wait long. I promise.**


End file.
